The Devil's Greatest Trick
by Katy M VT
Summary: It's been said that the devil's greatest trick is to convince others he doesn't exist.  Unknowingly, Dean has been convincing Sam to play right into Lucifer's hands. WIP
1. Chapter 1

Sam woke up. The sun wasn't up yet, but he decided he would go for a jog before Dean got up. He grabbed his stuff and went quietly into the bathroom. It worried him a little that Dean didn't stir at all. They were supposed to be light sleepers, always alert to danger. He knew that hadn't been true for a while. For a little while after they were shot by Roy and Walt, they were more vigilant, but had slacked off again. Dean had probably grown a little more complacent while with Lisa and Ben, and he had just been so tired after getting his soul back. They hadn't gotten back in the hyper-aware mode again. He wouldn't bring it up to Dean, but he would work on his own awareness.

He was brushing his teeth when Lucifer popped up. He rolled his eyes. He would ignore him as best he could just like always.

"So, Sam, ever hear that the devil's greatest trick is convincing others that he doesn't exist?"

Sam had heard that, but he refused to have a conversation with a figment of his imagination.

"Most people think it's because if they ignore the existence of the devil, that they'll sin will-nilly and their souls will come to me, but that's not the real reason," Lucifer continued.

Sam spit out his toothpaste and bent down to put on his sneakers. He would go on an extra long run. Leave Lucifer in his dust.

"The real reason is denying my existence gives me power. You've given me so much power I've escaped the cage. I'm real. I'm not a figment of your imagination anymore."

Sam froze with one shoe on and one off. He knew that couldn't be true. His imagination was just getting better at freaking him out.

Then he felt Lucifer's red hot hand on his shoulder. It actually felt real. But, it couldn't be.

"You're not real," he said.

"Yes I am, Sammy."

That gave Sam the answer. He would just get Dean to confirm that there was nobody else here. He would probably get mad at him for waking him up, but he didn't care right now.

"Dean!" he yelled.

"Oh, do you need big brother to come and save you from me?" Lucifer mocked. He smiled. "Won't do you much good. I can take Dean."

"DEAN!" Sam yelled louder.

SSS

Dean was sleeping. It was the only time he wasn't totally depressed. He didn't have to think of Cas's betrayal, Bobby's death, or Sam's weird new personality.

"DEAN!" he heard.

He sat straight up in bed. He looked over at Sam's bed. It was empty, but the bathroom door was closed. He got up, ran over and opened it.

"What the Hell?" he said.

"I'm sorry, Dean, but you have to tell me Lucifer's not here."

Sam was curled up in a corner of the bathroom shaking. Dean walked over to him and knelt down. "Sammy, he's not here."

"Are you sure?" Sam whispered. It reminded Dean of when Sam was nine and wouldn't believe there was nothing in his closet.

"Yeah. What happened? I thought you were doing better."

"I was, but he told me that ignoring him had given him the power to escape Hell. It sounded so reasonable. I'm really sorry I woke you up."

"Don't be," Dean said firmly. "Any time you're not sure what's real and what's not, you need to ask me, got it?"

Sam nodded.

"I'm going to go get us some breakfast. Are you going to go jogging?" Dean asked in an annoyed tone. He wasn't sure why, but Jogger Sam really irked him.

"No," Sam said. He just wasn't in the mood anymore.

"OK. I'll be back in ten minutes," Dean said. "Unless you want to come with," he didn't really want to leave Sam alone."

"I think I want to get a shower," Sam said. He had sweat more in the last few minutes than he would have if he had gone jogging.

Dean nodded to Sam and went out.

Lucifer stepped from behind the bathroom door. Sam realized that Dean wouldn't have seen him if he had been real, but there would have been no reason for the real devil to hid from Dean.

"I'm not ready for him yet. I need to make preparations first." Lucifer walked up to Sam, grabbed his arm and transported them somewhere else.

"We're back in Detroit. Where we went right after I said yes," Sam realized. "But, this isn't real. When Dean comes back, he'll pull me back to reality."

This is reality, Sammy," Lucifer said. "I need to perform a ritual to regain control of Hell from that upstart Crowley."

"What's the ritual?"

"I have to get Michael's vessel to kill mine."

"You mean Dean?" Sam asked, knowing full well who he meant for his own vessel. "Michael was never in Dean."

"Doesn't matter. Any one of his vessels can kill any of mine."

"Dean won't kill me," Sam argued. He was pretty sure of that. If Dean were going to kill him, there were more opportune moments to do it.

"I know," Lucifer sighed. "But Adam will."

"Adam's in Hell," Sam reminded him.

"He won't be once I trick Dean into getting him out."

SSS

Dean walked back in the hotel room with doughnuts. The bathroom door was still open, the way he'd left it and there was no sign of Sam.

"SAM!" Dean yelled. He couldn't lose Sam, too. Not now, not after everyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

"Meg!" Sam exclaimed as Meg walked into the warehouse and joined him and Lucifer.

"Hi," she said. "I liked you better when you had no soul. You were more interesting."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Have you done it my child?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes, the word is out."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. I've told you all I'm going to," Lucifer said and snapped his fingers.

Sam heard growling. "Is that a hell hound?" He knew it was. They would bay all the time outside of Lucifer's cage, trying to get to their master.

"Get on the table, Sam," Lucifer instructed.

Next to Sam, there was a large metal table. Sam saw that there were cuffs to chain someone down on it. "No." He immediately felt the fetid breath of the invisible dog. He instinctively backed up and found himself sitting on the table. One demonic push from Meg applied from across the room forced him to his back. Lucifer cuffed his hands and feet at the edges. He was then gagged, blindfolded and headphones were put over his ears. All he could hear was 'The Song That Never Ends.' Then chains were put across his chest.

"That should hold him," Lucifer said to Meg. "Stay here and help guard him. Feed him once a day, but no more. Only take his headphones off if you really need to. I want to torture him, but I can't afford to accidentally kill him, so this is the best I can do. Have him in a way where he has no idea what is going on around him and annoy him with that endless song."

"So, I just hang out here and feed him once a day?" Meg asked. She was hoping for a more exciting, important task."

"If you want to, you can pour ice on him from time to time, or cover up his nose so he can't breathe. Whatever you want, just make sure you don't kill him. If you kill him, I will be very displeased."

"I understand, Father," Meg said meekly. Nobody wanted to displease him.

"I'm going out. When I come back, hopefully everything will be ready," Lucifer said and with that he left.

SSS

Dean had no idea what to do. There was no clue as to what happened to Sam. The salt lines weren't broken. There was no sulphur or EMF or hex bags. There was no sign of a struggle.

Dean grabbed his cell phone and dialed Sam's number. He heard ringing coming from two feet away from him and slammed his phone shut in frustration. He wondered if Sam had just up and went off somewhere with Hal-Lucifer like he did that other time. The problem was he couldn't track him down via his GPS this time.

He sank down onto the bed and put his head to his knees in frustration. He had to find him. Sam was all he had left, and no matter what Sam said, it was his job to protect him.

He would try calling Frank. It would be breaking all the protocols, but he had no other allies left.

SSS

Delores walked into Crowley inner sanctum. She had been his lover since Lucifer had been trapped in the cage, but she couldn't stand him. She was a Lucifer loyalist. Crowley had no idea, though. He was too arrogant, and she was too good of an actress.

"Crowley, I found out something."

"What?" All the demons had felt Lucifer leaving his cage a few hours ago. He had sent Delores out to find out what was going on.

"Lucifer got out by tricking Sam into believing that he didn't exist," Delores said. She had learned deception from the best. Always as much truth as possible. That way the lies would be believed.

"I should have realized he would try that," Crowley lamented. "The oldest trick in the book. At least Lucifer's oldest."

"Well, I also found out how we can lock him back in," Delores said, reeling him in.

"How?" Crowley asked.

"There's a spell. Basically Adam has to kill Sam."

"Is Adam out of the cage, too?"

"No, that's the tricky part."

"I know how we can get him out. We tell Dean about that getting Adam out of Hell will lock Lucifer back in to get him to make a deal. We'll omit the part about killing Sam. A demon deal can accomplish anything, even things we can't do alone," he said. Delores turned around and rolled her eyes. Crowley was always explaining things to her like she was a child. Everybody knew about the power of demon deals.

"He won't want to sell his soul again," Crowley continued. "But, deals can be made for special weapons, too."

"Like what?" Delores asked. Now she was surprised. She had simply assumed that the King of the Crossroads would talk Dean into a soul deal. After all, self-sacrifice was the Winchester way. This would save Adam and the world. It would kill Sam, but he wouldn't know that.

"Like Ruby's knife," Crowley grinned. There wasn't a demon topside that didn't want that thing out of the Winchesters' hands anyway.

"Brilliant," Delores was forced to concede. "By the way, I don't know if it's important to your plan at all, but Lucifer has Sam in his possession."

"Then we'd best hurry before Lucifer kills Sam himself," Crowley said and disappeared.

SSS

Lucifer found his own safe house a mile from the warehouse. Sam's denial of his existence only gave him enough power to get out of Hell and transport him. His batteries were on empty and would be until the ritual were performed. He couldn't let any of his minions know this, though. Power was all appearance.

SSS

Dean got off the phone with Frank. Frank had no idea where Sam was, but he didn't think there was any Leviathan involvement.

There was a knock at the door. Dean ran to open it, hoping it was Sam.

"Fancy a chat?" Crowley asked him, grinning his cocky grin.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where's my brother?" Dean demanded the second he saw Crowley. It was no coincidence that Sam went missing and then Crowley popped up.

"I don't know, but I know who has him."

"What are you talking about? Is it the Leviathans?" The last time they had seen Crowley he basically told them he was leaving them alone so they could hunt the leviathans. If he was willing to share info regarding Sam it must have to do with them.

"Worse. It's Lucifer," Crowley answered.

"Lucifer? He's still in the cage? Is Sam back in the cage?" Dean was panicked. Sam hadn't given him one detail about it, but he knew that it was bad.

"No, Luci's back up."

"How?" Dean asked.

"Apparently Sam denied his existence one too many times. Gave Lucifer the power to escape. The good news is I know a spell that will send him back."

"And you're willing to share this why?" Dean didn't trust Crowley at all.

"For obvious reasons. If I want to stay the king of Hell, I've got to send the real king back."

"What do you need me for?" Dean asked.

"The spell involves breaking Adam out of the cage," Crowley explained.

"Not many things that can do that," Dean pointed out.

"True enough, but there's one thing that can do anything. A demon deal."

"You want me to sell my soul? Again?" Dean asked. He might have to. He couldn't let Lucifer run amok up here and this could also possibly save his brother. But that brought up another question. "What's Lucifer doing with Sam? Has he killed him?"

"Not yet, but he probably will. He's probably having a little fun first. So, we really need to hurry. To answer your other question, you've already sold your soul once so you can't sell it again. But a deal doesn't have to be for a soul. It can also be for a demon killing weapon."

"Like Ruby's knife?" Dean asked, immediately catching Crowley's drift.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Dean asked.

"You don't. But you do know two things. Crowley's always out for Crowley and I want Lucifer back in his box. And when a demon makes a deal he has to honor it. Oh, and you also know that you don't want Sam in Lucifer's clutches any longer than necessary."

Crowley was right about that. "Fine," Dean said. He handed Crowley Ruby's knife and pulled him into a kiss. "Now hurry up."

SSS

Meg was bored. Lucifer had told her she could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't kill him. She wasn't sure how long they were going to have to be here, so she wouldn't do anything where he could get an infection or bleed to death. She rolled her eyes. Humans were so fragile. She was glad she wasn't one anymore.

She went to the freezer and grabbed some ice out of it. She walked over to Sam and started unbuttoning his shirt. He immediately stiffened and tried to mumble something through his gag. She would have made some snarky remark, but she knew he couldn't hear anything through the headphones.

She found a piece of ice that had a sharp edge and quickly drew it across Sam's chest. She knew that it would only be for a couple of seconds, but Sam would think that he was being cut by a knife. He flinched and screamed out behind the gag. She smiled, but then, unfortunately, she saw him relax, he was onto the ruse.

SSS

Crowley had left Dean and was standing in the middle of Stull Cemetery. He watched as Adam came up out of the ground. He was screaming.

"It's OK, kid. You're out."

Adam took no notice of him and continued screaming. "Great," Crowley said. "The person I need to do something for me and he's a drooling mess. You've only been down there for a couple of centuries, you whiny brat. I was down there for near a millennia before I was turned into a demon. I survived." Of course, he had been in regular Hell.

Adam continued to scream. Crowley knocked him out and transported him back to his hideout where Delores was waiting.

"You got him," she noted.

"Yeah, but he's not much good for anything. He won't stop screaming."

"That's not good. He needs to kill Sam Winchester."

"I know that you moron!" Crowley shouted. He was beyond frustrated. Lucifer would probably kill Sam himself soon.

"I'll be back. I know someone who might be able to help," Delores said and disappeared before Crowley could ask any questions.

SSS

Delores popped up into Lucifer's safehouse. She was the only one he had entrusted with its location. "What's happening, my child?" he asked.

"Adam's out of Hell," she said.

"That's wonderful," Lucifer said. "Step one of my plan is complete. Is Crowley bringing him to the warehouse now?"

"No. Apparently Adam won't stop screaming and won't respond to Crowley. He's trying to figure out how to get him aware enough to thrust a knife into Sam."

"Oh, yes. I'd forgotten. We completely broke Adam about thirty years ago. He's really no fun anymore. Sam's tied down, so all we really need to do is calm Adam down enough to hold a knife and direct it. Without Crowley knowing of my interference, of course."

"Tell me what to do," Delores said.

Lucifer laid out his plan as Delores smiled and nodded. Her master was brilliant.

SSS

Dean had been beyond pissed when Crowley disappeared on him. He had expected to be in the loop through the whole thing. How could he expect to get Sam back from Lucifer if he wasn't with Crowley when everything went down?

He dug into Bobby's books. He needed to figure out what this ritual was and where it might happen. he also needed to figure out where the devil was holding Sam right now.

Hours later, he found the spell. He actually remembered Bobby had mentioned that he had found one before they had locked Lucifer up. He told them he wasn't going to tell them what it was for two reasons. The first was that it only worked when the devil got out of the cage by trickery of men's minds and that wasn't how he had escaped before. The second was that the spell was simple enough but one that Bobby wouldn't allow. When Dean saw what it was he gasped. He knew now why Bobby had hidden it from them.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucifer summoned Atropos.

"What do you want?" she asked when she appeared.

"I hear you're pretty mad that fate was averted and you're out of a job," Lucifer said.

"Yeah? And?" Ever since the whole Titanic incident, she hated all angels. Fallen angels, rogue angels, dutiful soldier angels. All of them.

"Well, I'm back up and have a way to become pretty powerful. If I succeed, I'll make sure you have a job again. But, I need your help first."

Atropos had felt totally helpless and worthless since the averted Apocalypse. "What do you need?"

"I know you have potions. You have one that will allow someone to overcome a traumatic episode for 24 hours, and you have one that will revert someone to a point in time when they were still innocent. I'll take both of those and decide which one will work best for my purposes."

"What for?" Atropos asked.

"That's for me to worry about. You know I always keep my bargains."

That was true enough. The devil was evil, but he had to keep his deals. It was the rule of Hell. It was kind of ironic that those ruled by Heaven could do whatever they wanted, but Hell had to follow rules. She shrugged and handed him the potions. She flitted back to home and smiled. She was about to get off the unemployment line.

SSS

Dean read the words again. The way to lock Lucifer back in his cage was to have Michael's vessel murder 13 children. One that was one year old, one that was two, one that was three, and so on and so on. No wonder Crowley hadn't told him the rest of the spell. He had to find him and stop him.

He read the rest of the section and found out another spell. This one resulted in making Lucifer all powerful and involved vessels killing each other. He shuddered with horror, thinking of the time he and Sam had almost killed each other when under the siren's spell. He had been sick enough with the thought of either of them being directly responsible for the death of the other, but to know the consequences would have been so much graver gave him a new chill.

SSS

Lucifer had given Delores one of the potions. He held one back in reserve in case Crowley failed and he needed to take matters into his own hands. She was explaining to Crowley.

"If you give Adam this potion he will overcome his trauma, but only for 24 hours."

"Great. Now all we have to do is find Sam and Lucifer."

"I know where they are. They're in a warehouse in Detroit."

"Great. I'll give Adam the potion and then transport us there."

Delores smiled. All was going according to plan. 

SSS

Meg had to feed Sam, but she decided to do it intravenously rather than with food. She figured that would be easier for her, plus she would be able to see his detect his fear when the needle was inserted. After all, he wouldn't know it was for food. It could be for anything.

Sam hadn't felt anything for a while. He had no concept of time right now. But he felt a needle going into his arm. He tried to jerk his arm away, but of course he couldn't. He struggled as best he could being tied down as he was.

Meg laughed as she watched Sam's helpless struggles. She finished inserting the IV and injected some drugs in also. Sam was tricky. It wouldn't hurt for him to be a bit woozy even while strapped down.

SSS

Dean remembered the spell Bobby had performed when they were looking for Lillith. He performed it again to find Crowley. He shook his head in disbelief. The bastard was about two miles away. He hopped in his latest stolen car and hoped he wasn't too late.

SSS

Crowley gave the potion to Adam. Adam stopped screaming and his eyes flew open.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Name's Crowley. I got you out of Hell."

"Thanks," Adam said and really meant it. Hell had been hell.

"There's something you have to do if you want to stay out, though."

"What?" Adam asked. He should have known this wasn't a freebie. Spending a couple of centuries with Michael and Lucifer was enough to make anyone see the worst in everyone and no good in the world.

"You need to kill Sam."

"No problem," Adam responded. Sam was responsible for him being in the cage in the first place. He felt no remorse in killing him to stay out.

"Let's go, then," Crowley said.

He touched Adam's forehead. They popped up outside the warehouse.

Dean rushed in the cabin in time to watch Adam and Crowley disappear. He'd been so close.

SSS

Lucifer had arrived at the warehouse a few minutes earlier. Sam was strapped down to the table. "It's almost time. Set him free."

"Set him free? But isn't Adam coming to kill him. It would be easier if he's strapped down," Meg pointed out.

"He doesn't just have to kill him. He has to do it in a certain manner," Lucifer said.

"Does Crowley know that?" Meg asked.

"I've taken care of everything. You needn't worry. Let him up."

Meg undid Sam's restraints. She helped him up as he swayed.

"What's wrong with him?" Lucifer asked.

"I drugged him," Meg said.

"Sit him in the middle of that circle," Lucifer pointed. He hoped the drugs didn't interfere with his plan.

Sam half-heartedly tried to escape Meg. She was too strong and he was too weak.

SSS

Dean performed the ritual again and found that Crowley was now in Detroit. That was three hours away. It was times like this he really missed Cas.

SSS

"Ready?" Crowley asked Adam.

"I want to eat first."

"What?"Crowley barked. "Time is of the essence. You can eat later.'

"Not if I fail," Adam pointed out. "I've been in Hell two centuries. I want a burger."

Crowley knew he wouldn't talk him out of this. He had 24 hours, but he wasn't sure how long Sam had. He walked up to the window and peeked. Sam was sitting in the middle of a circle with Lucifer and Meg standing near the walls. They didn't look like they were planning on doing anything. He figured the circle was some kind of magic keeping Sam in.

"OK, but let's hurry," Crowley said.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's taking them so long? I thought they were right outside," Meg said.

Lucifer went to the window to look. "I don't see them. Maybe they're gearing up or something." This was good. Those stupid drugs Meg had given Sam would wear off a bit.

"Should we strap him back down?"

"No. He's got to be out and ready. It would make Crowley suspicious if he saw us letting Sam loose in time for Adam to kill him." Why were his creations so stupid.

SSS

"OK. You've had a burger. You've had dessert. Let's go kill your brother," Crowley said, getting impatient. He got that the kid was hungry, but it had been two hours since he'd given him the formula.

"Sleep first," Adam countered.

"Look, you little maggot, you want to make sure Lucifer is locked up again, right?"

"Of course," Adam agreed.

"Well, if you don't kill him in the next 20 hours, it will be too late." OK, he had 22, but better to put at least a little pressure on.

"They don't let me sleep in Hell. Give me one hour and then I'll do it. I promise."

"Fine," Crowley snapped. "But no more delays after that."

"No," Adam agreed. He was just as eager as this as Crowley was. But he knew what was in store for him if he failed and he intended to get food and rest before he might be shoved back into Hell.

SSS

Sam started to feel less woozy. "Why did you let me up?" he asked.

"Sacrifice has to take place in that circle," Lucifer said.

Sam tried to get up. Lucifer nodded to Meg and she threw out her hand pinning him down. Lucifer walked over to her and whispered, "He can't be pinned when Adam comes to kill him, but pin him right up until the point where Adam gets with a couple of feet."

Meg nodded her understanding.

Sam wondered what they were staying. He struggled, but knew it was useless. The only time he had ever been able to break a demonic hold was when he had been hopped up on demon blood.

SSS

"Get up," Crowley barked an hour later.

Adam stretched and got up. He was ready.

Crowley zapped him over to the warehouse. They peaked in. Sam was still sitting in that same circle. Meg was standing propped up along the wall. Lucifer was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go. I'll take care of Meg, you kill Sam."

Adam and Crowley burst in the warehouse. As Adam approached Sam, Meg subtly released her hold. Crowley launched at her and they started fighting.

Lucifer crept out from his hiding place and watched.

Adam lifted his knife up and started to swing down towards Sam. Sam realized the hold on him had been lifted. He figured Meg probably couldn't hold him and fight with Crowley at the same time. Sam grabbed for the knife and Adam fell as the knife was wrested from his grasp.

Adam made a grab for the knife and they started fighting for it.

SSS

Dean pulled up to the warehouse and jumped out of his car, praying he wasn't too late. He drew his gun and burst through the doors, not even stopping to check if it was safe.

He saw Sam and Adam fighting. Sam was about to stab Adam. He couldn't let that happen. He aimed his gun and pulled the trigger.

Adam fell dead to the floor. Crowley and Meg stopped fighting to see what had happened.

"NOOOO!" Lucifer screamed.

Sam looked up at Dean in confusion. He had been about to kill Adam. There had been no reason for Dean to have to bear the burden of killing his brother. "What'd you do that for?" he asked.

"It was a spell. If Lucifer's vessel killed Michael's vessel, than Lucifer would become all powerful."

"Well, you should have killed Sam. Because if Michael's vessel killed Lucifer's vessel, than Lucifer gets locked back in the cage."

"Who told you that?" Dean asked.

"My minion," Lucifer said. "And I told Sam that if Michael's vessel killed my vessel it would make me all powerful. Now that we're all up to speed, it looks like the only option is to get Sam to kill you."

"That's not going to happen," Sam said.

Dean shot Lucifer.

"Dean, while I have no actual powers, you still can't kill me". He walked up to Sam and quickly emptied the contents of Atropos' other vial into Sam's mouth. He was immediately transformed into an eight year old. Before he was ever told about the supernatural.

Sam looked around. "Who are you? What's going on?"

"It's OK, Sammy," Dean said.

"Who are you? Where are my dad and brother? DAD! DEAN!" Sam was scared. He didn't know any of these people or where he was. The last thing he remembered was going to bed and his dad was leaving on a business trip in the morning.

"You've been kidnapped, Sam. I'm here to rescue you," Lucifer said.

"That's not true!" Dean yelled and at the same time Meg acted like she was attacking Lucifer to get to Sam. Lucifer managed to knock Sam out during the struggle.

He picked him up. Dean advanced on him. Meg knocked him back into the wall.

"I'll tell him his father and brother died. I'll raise him to want revenge. Against you. It will take a while, but don't worry. I'll get my power back."

Dean watched, powerless, as Lucifer left with his brother.

After a few minutes, Meg let go of Dean and walked out the door. She was furious that Lucifer hadn't trusted her. He had lied about having no power, what the actual ritual was. She realized that she couldn't trust him. Hopefully, since she had done this last thing for him, he would spare her if he got his power back, but she intended to avoid him from now on.

SSS

Lucifer looked down at Sam's sleeping form as he drove. It was going to be hard to treat him like a son. He hated Sam with every ounce of his being. But, for this to work, Sam would have to love and trust him. Oh well. He was the devil after all. This is what he did. Sam looked to be about eight, so in eight to ten years, he would be ready to take on Dean. He just hoped Dean would live that long.


	6. Chapter 6

Lucifer met up with Delores. He checked to make sure Sam was still out and then he got out of the car to speak with her. "How may loyal demons do we have that we can absolutely count on?" he asked.

"About 50," she answered.

"OK. Gather them. Find a small community. Very small. Possess an entire neighborhood and the teachers in the school. Then call me and let me know where you are. For the next few years, Sam's not going to have any adult human contact. We obviously don't have enough to do all the kids in school, but it should be OK."

Delores nodded and went off to serve her master.

SSS

Once Meg had left, Dean and Crowley were alone in the warehouse. "Now what?" Crowley asked.

"We have to get Sam back," Dean said.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about your brother. I just want to get Lucifer back in the cage."

"Well, you heard the spell for that. It's not happening. We have to get Sam back so that Lucifer can't brainwash him into killing me."

"Or, I could just kill you," Crowley suggested.

"What?"

"If you're not around to kill, there will be no way for Lucifer to cast that spell. You're already here. Seems a lot simpler than finding Sam."

"There are probably other vessels around," Dean pointed out. "No, we have to find Sam and then figure out a way to neutralize Lucifer once and for all. Without killing a bunch of kids."

"I said it before and I'll say it again. You Winchesters make everything so difficult. I'll go see if I can find where Lucifer is. You go through Bobby's legendary library and see if you can find out any way to kill him," Crowley said. With that he disappeared.

SSS

Delores had called Lucifer with their location. They were in a small farming community in Indiana. Her timing was perfect. As soon as he got off the phone, Sam woke up.

"Who are you? Where's my dad and brother?"

"I'm an FBI agent. I just rescued you. You'd been kidnapped."

"I don't remember being kidnapped," Sam said doubtfully.

"Well, what's the last thing you do remember?" Lucifer asked.

"Going to bed."

"They came in while you were sleeping and drugged you to keep you asleep. That's why you don't remember anything."

"Oh. OK," Sam said. It sounded reasonable enough. "Why would anybody want to kidnap me?"

"There are bad people out in the world, Sam. Some of them like to buy little kids. You were kidnapped by people who sell kids as slaves."

"So, if you hadn't rescued me I would be a slave?" Sam asked. They were just learning about slavery in school. He wouldn't want to be a slave.

"Well, I did, so don't worry about it," Lucifer said, trying his best to be comforting. Wasn't really his thing.

"Are you taking me back to my family now?" Sam asked.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Sam, but when the kidnappers came they killed your dad and your brother."

"What?" Sam asked and started to cry.

Lucifer wasn't sure what the proper response to this was.

"Do you have any other family?" Lucifer asked.

"Uncle Bobby," Sam said through sobs. He didn't think he was actually his uncle, but besides Dad and Dean, he was all he had.

"Bobby Singer?" Lucifer said. He had anticipated this.

Sam nodded.

"We called him when you went missing. He was driving down to meet us and got in a car accident. I'm sorry, Sam, but he's dead, too."

Sam's eyes went wide.

"There's nobody else?"

Sam shook his head.

"Well, I'm living with my brother and his wife right now. You can come live with us. The alternative would be an orphanage, or foster care. I could tell you some horror stories about that."

"Can I really live with you?" Sam asked. His dad had always told him and Dean they had to behave and not get in any trouble or they would end up in foster care and never see him again. He would never see his dad again anyway, but he would like to avoid this foster care, whatever that was.

"Great. We'll be home in a few hours," Lucifer said. He reached over and ruffled Sam's hair for effect. It was going to be a long 8 to 10 years. He was going to make himself sick.

SSS

Dean was poring over books. He found what he was looking for. If the devil was in an unpowered state, you could kill him by freezing him in a block of ice and then setting it on fire. Yeah, that was simple. But, at least there was a way, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

Crowley popped up. "OK. A whole bunch of demons migrated to a little farming town in Indiana. I'm assuming that's where Lucifer will be keeping Sam. Keeping him isolated from anyone who can tip him off."

Dean explained how he could be killed.

"Well, how are we going to get him to stand still long enough to encase him in ice? Especially with demons protecting him?"

"We'll have to come up with a plan. We have a little bit of time. Lucifer's not going to sic an eight year old on me to kill me. At the same time, I'm not willing to let Sam hang out with Lucifer for a few years," Dean said.

"Maybe we could lure Lucifer away. Get him alone."

"What will the demons do to Sam if they find out we've killed Lucifer?" Dean asked.

"They'll kill him. But there's a bigger picture, Dean," Crowley said.

Dean was really regretting even talking to Crowley. But, most of the hunters he had ever worked with were dead. And Frank was just nuts. He was stuck with Crowley. "We'll lure Lucifer away. You take care of him while I go after Sam," Dean decided.

Crowley shrugged. As long as they got Lucifer he didn't care what happened to the Winchesters. "We need a good plan, though. If I fail, I'll be buggered for eternity."


	7. Chapter 7

Lucifer pulled up to the farm house and he and Sam got out of the car. He was met at the door by Delores in her new meat suit.

"Hi. You must be Sam," she said and gave Sam a hug. She congratulated herself on not cringing. Humans had an unbearable stench. She heard that Ruby had had sex with this one. She didn't know how she had managed.

"Hi," Sam said shyly. It was really starting to hit home that everyone he loved was dead.

"Come in," she said. Lucifer gave Sam a little nudge and they were all in the kitchen.

"I'm Sharon. This is my husband, Bob."

Lucifer noticed that Delores had chosen a kind of stupid demon for this role. He'd have to talk to her about that. There had to be someone better who they could replace him with. It's not like Sam would be able to tell the difference.

"Are you hungry?" Sharon/Delores asked.

Sam nodded.

"What do you like to eat?"

"I'm not picky," Sam said. He was looking down at the floor. He didn't want to live here. These people weren't his family. He wanted his dad and Dean.

"Well, we'll order a pizza. All kids like pizza, right?" Delores wanted to smack the attitude right out of this kid. She didn't want to put up with surly for the next few years.

"Sure," Sam said.

"Bob, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lucifer said and went into the other room expecting to be followed.

Lucifer turned around there was nobody behind him. He rolled his eyes. "BOB!" he shouted.

Bob came in. "Sorry. I forgot that was my name."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Look, I think we should play good cop/bad cop with the kid."

"Can I be the good cop?" Bob asked. That was always the easier of the two roles.

"No, you moron. I have to be the good cop. Basically, I just want you yelling at the kid when I'm not around. Threaten him. Hit him to bruise, but make sure you don't break anything. Tell him if he tells me, you're going to kill him. But, whatever you do, make sure I'm not around when you're doing it. He needs to think I don't know anything about it. Do you think you can handle that?"

Bob nodded. Lucifer wasn't so sure, but he had no choice.

SSS

Lucifer made a big show of saying he would go pick up the pizza. "You stay here and get to know Bob and Sharon," Lucifer told Sam. He had let Delores in on the plan, too. She would turn a blind eye to what Bob was up to. She and Sam could bond over their shared fear of the bully.

"So, Sam, do you miss your dad and brother?" Bob asked.

Sam nodded.

Bob slapped him across the face.

"Bob," Delores protested.

When she made sure Sam had seen Bob glaring down at her, she shrank down in her chair and cast her eyes down. "Sharon, we discussed this before the boy came. You're too soft-hearted discipline is my domain."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"That's better. Now, first of all, boy, when I ask you a question, you don't nod, you say yes, sir. Understand?"

Sam started to nod. "Yes, sir," he quickly said.

"Second of all, you forget all about your old family. This is your new family. I don't want any divided loyalties."

Sam just stared at him. How was he supposed to forget his father and brother.

"You mention them ever again, I'll tan your hide. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said. He wouldn't really forget them. He just wouldn't talk about them. He'd keep them in his head.

"What's your favorite subject in school?"

"English, sir," Sam asked, glad that they were changing the subject.

He wouldn't be glad for long. Bob stood up and thundered, "English is a sissy subject. You're a boy. You should like math and science."

Bob grabbed his arm and lifted him out of the chair. He twisted his arm behind his back. He was very careful, mindful of what Lucifer had told him about not breaking anything. He applied just enough pressure until he heard the kid whimper.

"What's your favorite subject?"

"Math, sir," Sam said and sat down. He couldn't wait until Nick got back.

As if in answer to a prayer, the door opened. "Here's the pizza. I gotta run. I just got a call about a couple of fugitives the next town over."

"Wait," Sam said.

"We'll talk when I get back," Lucifer said, quick to cut him off. He wanted Sam desperate for him and that wasn't going to happen this soon. "I'll be back in about a week." With that he ran out the door.

Sam was slapped. "You were going to tell him, weren't you? You ever tell Nick I hit you, I'll kill you. You understand, boy?"

Sam nodded.

He was slapped.

"Yes, sir," he amended.

"You've been bad. I think you should go to bed without supper." Bob grabbed him arm and pulled him roughly up the stairs. He changed his mind. Being bad cop was fun.

He led Sam into a bedroom. "This is your room. But you have to earn the right to sleep in it." He pulled him back out and shoved him up some more stairs in front of him into a dusty cold attic.

There was an old wardrobe in the corner. "Get in," Bob indicated it.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You're going to sleep standing up in there. If you behave yourself tomorrow, you can sleep in your bed."

Sam figured there was no point in arguing. Bob would just force him in if he didn't get in voluntarily. The doors were closed. Bob shoved another piece of furniture in front of it. "Night night, kid," he said. "I better not here you making any noise, either."

Sam squatted down. It was all he had enough room to do. He cried. He cried because his family was dead and he cried because he was here with a psycho.

Halfway through the night he realized the next day was Saturday. On Monday they would have to send him to school. He'd tell a teacher. They would help him. Dad had always been saying protective services would take them away for the smallest of things. He was pretty sure this wasn't small.

A/N: Just assume Crowley and Dean are making plans or whatever. We'll catch up with them in a couple of chapters.


	8. Chapter 8

Bob let Sam out of the wardrobe at 5 in the morning. "Come on, boy. This is a farm. Saturday is a big work day. I can't believe you slept this late."

Sam thought that was the most ridiculous complaint he had ever heard. He hadn't slept at all. He was too uncomfortable bent up like a pretzel. It was a good thing he wasn't big. It would have been unbearable. Plus, he had been locked in. How was he supposed to have got up on his own? Bob was a moron.

Sam followed Bob down to the kitchen. Delores shoved a bowl of Corn Flakes in front of him. He practically inhaled it. He was starving. As soon as he was done, Bob grabbed his arm. "Come on. We have work to do."

SSS

Bob had made Sam work through lunch. At 7 that night he told Sam he could call it quits. He was sore and exhausted.

"That was some pretty sloppy work!" Bob yelled. Actually it had been pretty good for an 8 year old who had never been on a farm before, but it wouldn't have been very mean if he told him that.

"Sorry, sir," Sam said.

When they got back to the house Delores gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He scarfed it down. "Can I sleep in the bed tonight, sir?" Sam asked hopefully.

"After that sloppy work and bad table manners? I don't think so."

"Please?" Sam asked and gave him what Dean had always called his puppy dog eyes. At the thought of his big brother, those eyes filled with tears.

Had Bob been human he would have melted. Demons are immune to puppy dog eyes, though. He punched Sam in the arm. "No means no. Get up to the attic. I'll be up to tuck you in," Bob leered.

Sam ran up the stairs. He held on to the hope of being able to get a teacher to help him on Monday. There was only one day left.

When Sam heard Bob coming up the stairs he jumped in the wardrobe. He was so tired he was sure he would be able to sleep, even in the squatting position.

"Tomorrow is Sunday. A day of rest."

Sam sighed in relief. Bob shut the door and pushed the bureau in front of it. "So, I'll see you Monday morning."

"What?" Sam asked.

Bob ignored him as he left the room.

SSS

Sam woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. He was starving. He hoped someone would bring him some food, but he doubted it. As time went on and the smell dissipated, he knew they wouldn't.

A little while later, he heard a car start and drive off. They had left him alone here.

Hours later he heard the car returning, then he heard footsteps approaching. Bob let him out. "If you're going to go to school tomorrow, you should get a shower and sleep in a bed."

"Thank you, sir," Sam whispered. He wanted to ask for water, but didn't want to risk being thrown back in the wardrobe. If he was really going to get to take a shower, he could drink some of that water.

Twenty minutes later, Sam was in bed and fast asleep.

SSS

"Get up. You don't want to be late for school," Bob said as he put some clothes on the chair for Sam to change into.

"What are those?" Sam asked.

"Your clothes. For school."

"But, it's a suit," Sam protested. He was, of course, rewarded with a smack.

"Some kids don't have any clothes. I'm providing you with real nice ones. Put them on."

Sam sighed. He was going to be a laughing-stock.

SSS

Bob brought him to school, walked him to office, and registered him. Sam was shown to his homeroom and Bob left.

Sam immediately approached the teacher. "Yes, Sam?" she asked.

"Mrs. Reilly, Bob beats me and locks me in a wardrobe and makes me work from dawn until dusk without a break or food or water."

"Now, Sam, I understand that you've just had a tragedy, but that doesn't give you the right to make up stories about people," the demon teacher said.

"But, it's true," Sam whined and quickly took off the suit jacket and pulled up his shirt to show her the bruises."

"Well, I find it really quite disturbing that you would harm yourself to perpetuate a lie. Take your seat. Class is about to begin."

Sam's jaw dropped. Obviously his father had been misinformed and had never had anything to fear about teachers reporting him to children's services.

SSS

After that, Sam's day had gone pretty much as expected. The other kids had wanted nothing to do with the crazy new kid who would wear a suit to school. The teacher treated him like a trouble making liar.

The last recess of the day, he decided to make a break for it. He ran for the road, but was snagged by the principal. "Where do you think you're going young man?" he asked.

Just then his teacher joined them. "This is the new student, Sam. He accused Bob of beating him. I think he's going to be a real troublemaker."

"Well, we'll just have to keep you after school."

SSS

Bob stormed into the school an hour after it ended. He knew exactly where Sam was. All of this was part of the plan. It had been brilliant of Lucifer to have all the teachers and staff possessed. Kid didn't stand a chance. And he didn't even know what a demon was, so it wasn't like he would suspect anything of that nature.

He strode into the classroom where Sam was writing, "I will not make up lies" a thousand times on the blackboard.

"Where have you been, boy?" Bob asked.

Sam hoped Bob would hit him right here and now. Then Mrs. Reilly would see he wasn't making anything up.

"I'm afraid Sam has been telling lies. He said you beat him. He even bruised himself to make his story more believable," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Is that true, Sam?"

"No," Sam said. He purposely left off the sir.

"What do you recommend?" Bob asked the teacher.

"I don't think he's ready to be back in school so soon after his family's death. Perhaps you should homeschool."

"That's an excellent idea. Come on, Sam."

Sam's eyes widened. Now he would never be away from Bob. But, he had no choice. He meekly followed Bob out to the car.

"You little brat. Now I'm stuck with you all day. What do you have to say for yourself."

"You can just drop me off at the side of the road. I'll take care of myself," Sam suggested. He didn't know how he would do that, but anything was better than Bob.

"Nick would kill me. For some reason, he likes you."

Sam had almost forgotten about Nick. "When is he coming back?"

"End of the week. In the meantime, I guess it's just you and me."

When they got home, Bob said, "I hope you had a big lunch, because after the stunt you pulled, you're not getting any dinner.

Bob pushed him towards the basement. "Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"Get in," Bob said when they had reached the bottom of the stairs.

Sam found himself in a walk in freezer. And the door shut behind him. He immediately began shivering.

SSS

"You can't leave him in there all night. He'll freeze to death, you idiot," Delores reprimanded him.

"No, he won't. I've got the thermostat on a timer. It will slowly get warmer until it's about 45 degrees. That won't kill him, but he'll still be cold. And since it's gradual, he probably won't even realized it happened. But, just in case, I'll blame him for breaking the thing, in the morning."

Delores smiled her approval. Bob was actually doing a job well for once.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam was shivering when the freezer door opened. He got out as quickly as he could.

"You learn your lesson, kid?" Bob asked.

Sam nodded while his teeth still chattered.

"What lesson?"

"N-n-never t-t-tell anyone."

"That's right. Nick called. He's coming back early. He'll be here in an hour. If you tell him, he probably won't believe you. But if he does, I'll have to kill him and that will leave you completely at my mercy. Understand?"

Sam nodded. He wouldn't tell Nick. He had already learned that telling did no good.

SSS

Nick showed up a couple of hours later. "Hey, Sam. How are things going?" Of course, Bob had already apprised him of all that had happened.

"OK," Sam said.

"Great. Come on."

"Where are we going?" Sam asked. He figured Nick would probably take him out to beat him now.

"I'm going to teach you how to shoot. You're going to want to get revenge on the man that killed your family, aren't you?"

"I guess so," Sam answered. He had just kind of assumed that the police would arrest them, not that he would have to shoot them.

They went outside and Nick set up some bottles. Sam's dad had actually taken him out shooting a couple of times with Dean. He hit all the bottles on the first try.

"That's great." Lucifer was pleased. One well placed bullet is all it would really take to kill Dean. Sometimes it seemed like these guys were invincible but of course they weren't. "Want ice cream?"

"Sure," Sam said.

Lucifer figured he needed to bond with Sam to get him on his side.

SSS

"I've figured out a way we can get Lucifer here with Sam," Crowley said.

That was different than the original plan, but Dean thought that might actually be better.

"Great. How?"

"We let it leak to some demons that I've found another one of Michael's vessels and that he's going to sacrifice the children. He'll bring Sam to kill that vessel."

Dean nodded his approval. It was simple and it made sense. He wondered why it had taken them so long to think of it.

SSS

A few days later

Bob, Delores, Lucifer and Sam were eating dinner. "I heard Lucky Charms was your favorite cereal, so I got some for you for breakfast tomorrow," Nick said.

"Thanks," Sam replied. Nick was always trying to do nice things for him and acting like his friend, but something seemed bad about him. He couldn't understand why he felt like that. He didn't hit him like Bob did. In fact, since he'd been around, Bob had only hit him once and that was when Nick had been out of the room. Sam felt like he should be glad that Nick was around, but he gave him the creeps and would rather be beaten by Bob.

"May I be excused?" Sam asked. He didn't like these people. He would go hang out in his room alone.

"Sure," Nick said and smiled at him. Sam tried to smile back. He had a feeling it was all in his head. But, he knew the smile wasn't really coming off and he ran off.

Lucifer was oblivious. He just figured as the brightest angel everyone adored him.

"I heard something today," Delores whispered, not wanting to take the chance that Sam would overhear.

"What?" Lucifer asked.

"Crowley's found another one of Lucifer's vessels. He's gathering kids for sacrifices as we speak."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Because when I came in you were already sitting down to supper and I didn't want to do anything to spook Sam."

"Where are they?"

"About 300 miles away."

"OK. Bob, you go upstairs and lay into Sam. I'll come in and 'save' him. When I shoot you, act like you're dead."

"OK," Bob said. He hoped Lucifer gave him enough time to really get going. He hated that human kid. Sure, he used to be human, but then he got smart, became evil and got to be a demon. That was the best life plan of all. Or, maybe it was a death plan.

SSS

Sam was laying on his bed reading. Nick had bought him some books. He kept trying to reason with himself that Nick was a nice guy. He hadn't done anything to make him think otherwise. So, why did he? His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. He looked up to see Bob.

"Whatcha doing?" Bob asked.

"Reading," Sam answered. He sat up. He felt a little less vulnerable that way.

"You know, since Nick's been back, you've kind of been getting an attitude. Haven't called me sir once."

"Sorry, sir," Sam said.

"Nick went out for a while."

"I didn't hear the car."

Bob rolled his eyes. Kid was too observant for his own good. "He's walking the property. He'll be awhile."

"Stand up."

Sam stood up, but only because he wanted to. He didn't think Bob would dare do too much to him with Nick close by.

Bob grabbed the blankets off the bed and then pulled off the sheet. He cut it into strips. "Lie down."

Sam started backing towards the door instead. Bob grabbed him and threw him on the bed. He tied one of Sam's wrists to the bedpost and then the other.

"Don't! Leave me alone!" Sam yelled.

Downstairs Lucifer heard the yelling. It wasn't time yet. Sam had to be good and scared and desperate to be saved first.

"Shut up," Bob said and used one of the strips to gag Sam with. Then he moved to the bottom of the bed and tied each one of Sam's ankles to the bottom posts. Lucky the couple they were possessing had had a kid about Sam's age. They had killed him of course. It would have been too complicated otherwise.

Bob took his knife and slit Sam's t-shirt from top to bottom. Then he took off his belt and started whacking Sam in the stomach with it. He grunted behind the gag with each hit.

He hit Sam 100 times in three minutes. He was bored with that and he took out his knife and held it up to Sam's throat. He knew he couldn't kill Sam, but Sam didn't. He smiled as Sam's breathing got faster and his eyes got big.

"I'm going to take the gag off so we can talk. You won't yell will you?"

Sam shook his head.

Bob slid the knife away from his throat and up Sam's jawline and cut away the gag. He hoped Nick would come in soon, because he was getting sick of this. It was no fun torturing someone if you could only go so far.

He leaned down and kissed Sam. It was disgusting, but the good part was that it was disgusting for Sam, but wouldn't further hurt him to the point that he might be seriously injured.

"Did you like that, Sammy?" Bob asked, knowing that's what his dad and brother called him.

Sam recoiled at his special name from this guy. "No," he whispered.

"Then I guess I'll have to move on," he said. He unbuttoned Sam's jeans and pulled them down.

Sam's eyes got even wider. He had heard about this. "No," he whimpered as Bob started to grab him down there.

The door flung open. Bob turned around and Sam watched as Nick shot him. Sam saw Sharon run past Nick, screaming. "Bob. How could you do this?" she turned to Nick.

Nick shot her, too.

"Are you OK?" Nick asked Sam.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam stared in horror as he watched Nick shoot Bob and Sharon. In a way he was glad. Bob was hurting him. But, on the other hand, he had never seen anyone die before.

"Come on, Sam," Nick said, as he untied him. "We have to go before the police get here.

"But, you're the FBI and you were protecting me," Sam said.

"That doesn't matter. If they find us here, they'll arrest me and send you to an orphanage. Or a foster home with another Bob. You don't want that, do you?"

"No," Sam shook his head.

"Hurry up, then."

Sam quickly pulled out a pair of jeans and followed Nick out to his car. He didn't know why, but he still didn't trust him. It didn't make any sense. After all, the guy had just saved his life—for the second time.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"I don't know yet," Lucifer lied. He knew exactly where Crowley was holed up. He just hoped they got there before all the sacrifices had been made.

SSS

"Want to go over the plan again?" Dean asked.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "I thought Sam was the anal one. We've been over the plan 100 times. Lucifer walks in through that door. You shoot him with this ice maker machine that your weirdo friend Frank found for us. Lucifer will be encased in ice. I'll be waiting on the roof. I'll pour gasoline all over the block and then you'll set it on fire."

"How do we know he'll show?"

"Oh, he'll show. He can't chance me casting that spell."

SSS

"Are we going to stop soon?" Sam whined. "It's been hours and I'm hungry."

Sam's little temper tantrum was perfect timing. The warehouse Crowley was supposed to be in was right around the corner. "Sure, I'll find a place to hide you and then go get you some food."

"Why can't we just go get food?" Sam asked.

"Because it's too dangerous. Just trust me, OK?" Lucifer had no doubt of Sam's devotion. He had saved him from that moron Bob. He hoped Bob and Delores had kept their vessels. He didn't need the cops after him for real.

"Here we go," Lucifer said easing into the empty parking lot outside the warehouse.

"This isn't a hotel."

Lucifer fought to keep from rolling his eyes. Kid thought he was such a genius. "I know. We're hiding, remember? I'll go in with you and make sure it's safe before I leave for food."

"OK," Sam agreed. He didn't want to go into that scary looking building by himself.

"Take this," Lucifer said handing Sam a gun.

"What for?"

"If someone's inside, you may need to defend yourself, or me," Lucifer said. Sam would save his life to repay him.

"I don't want to shoot anybody," Sam protested. The bottles for target practice were one thing, but people were another.

"Well, I didn't want to shoot Bob, but I did it for you," Lucifer growled.

Sam shrank back.

Lucifer sighed. He didn't have time for this. He needed Sam to march inside and shoot the vessel. "There probably won't be anybody inside. And you only need to shoot someone if they're threatening us or somebody else." Surely Sam wouldn't have a problem with shooting some guy who was sacrificing a bunch of kids. His own gun would jam, of course. He couldn't be the one doing the killing.

When Lucifer and Sam walked into the warehouse, he momentarily froze. He hadn't expected Dean. And there were no kids. "Sam, that's the guy who killed your parents."

Sam recognized him from the day Nick had rescued him. He was aiming some kind of hose at Nick. Sam pulled out his gun and aimed it at the man. "Put it down."

Dean hadn't realized that Sam would have been so fast. He only needed another second. But, if Sam killed him now, Lucifer would become all powerful. He set the hose on the ground and put his hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you, Sammy," he promised. He looked so small and vulnerable. It seemed wrong for him to be holding a gun, much less point it at him.

"Don't call me that!" Sam yelled. Only his father and brother were allowed to call him that.

"Shoot him!" Nick was yelling at him. This could all be over in a matter of seconds.

"Why don't you?" Sam asked.

"He killed your family. I'm giving you the chance to avenge them. If you don't do that, they'll be disappointed in you."

"That's not true, Sam," Dean said. "First of all, he's lying. I didn't kill your family. Your brother's still alive and your father was killed by one of his employee's," he said indicating Lucifer.

Sam looked sharply at Nick. "Is that true?"

"Of course not."

But Sam wasn't so sure. There was something about Nick that had never seemed right to him. Crowley watched all this from his perch next to the skylight above them. He should have shot Sam the second he came into the warehouse. Then Dean would have been able to get on with the show. On the other hand, he might have just let the devil take over the world to spite him for killing his precious Sammy. Now he would just have to wait to see how this played out.

Dean took a tentative step forward. Sam tightened his grip on the gun. "Stay back."

"Sam, look into my eyes and see if I'm lying to you."

Sam looked into his eyes. They looked a lot like Dean's. But, obviously this guy wasn't Dean. He was way too old.

"He's a born con man. You can't tell anything by his eyes."

Sam looked over at Nick. Dean closed the distance between the two of them and hit Sam in the head knocking him out. "Sorry, Sammy. Had to get you out of the way."

Lucifer aimed his gun at Dean and pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11

Lucifer looked at the gun in disgust. It was his own fault. He had messed with the gun to make sure that it misfired so that Sam would have to shoot Dean to save him. He just had time to glance at Sam's unconscious form before he felt ice flowing over him.

Crowley was watching from his perch. He poured down the gasoline and lit the match, saying an incantation to make the fire immune to the melting water. When the ice totally melted, Lucifer was left lying on the ground.

"Are we sure he's dead?" Dean asked. It seemed little too easy.

Crowley bent over him to look. "Yeah. The king is dead. Long live the new king. Me." With that he disappeared.

Dean wanted to make sure this king wasn't too long-lived, but he had more important things to take care of. He picked Sam up and marveled at how light he was. He brought him back to the cabin he and Crowley had been working out of. He hoped Crowley stayed away.

SSS

Dean had laid Sam on the bed and was waiting for him to wake up. He was rewarded shortly. Sam scooted back on the bed. "Where's Nick?"

"Sam, Nick wasn't a nice guy." That was putting it mildly.

Sam didn't respond. He had already thought that, but he didn't know about this guy either. And he just realized he had used the word was instead of is. "Did you kill him?

Dean nodded.

"What are you going to me?" Sam asked. He wondered if he was like Bob.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. I would never hurt you, Sammy," Dean promised.

"Don't call me that," Sam snapped. "You said my brother wasn't dead." The nickname reminded him of what he had said back at the warehouse.

Dean sighed. He wasn't sure what to do. Sam wasn't stupid. He could read a calendar and he would figure out something wasn't right sooner or later anyway. "I'm your brother."

"What are you talking about. You're way too old to be Dean."

"What year do you think it is, Sam?"

"1991."

"it's 2012."

"How is that possible?" Sam asked.

"It's a really long story. But basically a spell was cast to make you younger," Dean didn't want to get into the whole devil and vessel thing.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Dean lied.

Sam didn't think he believed this. It was impossible. That meant that Dean really was dead.

"Are you hungry?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded.

"OK. Come on. We'll go get something to eat."

Sam followed Dean outside. Instead of getting in the car, he started running. He remembered that running hadn't worked at the school, but there were more people there. This guy was all alone. He just had to make it to the road. All adults couldn't be like those teachers. Somebody would help him.

Dean took a minute to react. He hadn't been expecting that. He couldn't let Sam run off, though. He was too vulnerable. He ran after him. It was nice being taller for once. He easily overtook Sam and grabbed his arm. He tried not to be rough.

Sam looked up at the man. He knew he would be punished now. He wondered when he would ever learn that he just needed to obey whatever the adults told him to do.

When Dean looked down at Sam, he was filled with sadness. He had expected to see defiance. What he saw was resigned acceptance.

"Come on. Back inside," he said gently.

When they were back inside, Sam meekly went back to sit on the bed. "Are you going to lock me in a closet, or something, all night?"

"Of course not," Dean said, but that did raise a question. He couldn't let Sam run away. If the leviathans found out that Sam was a little kid out on his own, it wouldn't take them very long to get their hands on him. They would either just kill him, or use him to get at Dean. He couldn't allow either to happen.

He went out to the car and got some tools. He installed a lock that he could slide a padlock into on both sides of the door. He could lock Sam in while he was there or out. He couldn't keep him locked up here forever, though. He really didn't know what to do. He threw Sam the granola bars he had found in the car.

Sam was eating the last of them when Meg appeared.

"How did you get here?" Sam asked. He didn't know who she was, other than that she had been there when Nick had saved him or not. But he was curious as to how anybody could just appear out of thin air.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked, stepping between Meg and Sam.

"I heard you killed my father."

Dean took a step back in Sam's direction. "Sorry," he said sarcastically.

"Don't be. He didn't trust me with the truth. I think maybe Crowley was wrong. Maybe he was planning on getting rid of all demons."

Sam was wondering what on earth she was talking about but kept his mouth shut.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked.

"The one thing I do know is that Lucifer got the potion to de-age Sam from Atropos."

"Fate?" Dean asked.

"That's right. I bet she could reverse it."

"Why do you care?" Dean asked. He knew that demons never do anything out of the kindness of their hearts.

"The leviathans have declared war on demons. Apparently Crowley did something to tick them off. You two have an amazing ability to hunt way beyond your pay grade. Either way, you'll be too busy hunting them to bother about me. I figure it's worth a shot."

"Fine. But, how do we find Atropos."

"I have a summoning ritual."

"Do it," Dean decided. It went against every grain to trust a demon, but Sam couldn't stay like this.

Meg mixed some herbs and said some Latin words and Atropos appeared.

"Will you fix him?" Dean asked getting straight to the point.


	12. Chapter 12

"I can fix him," Atropos answered.

"Will you?" Dean asked the more important question.

"I will. This isn't his fate."

"Then why did you do it?" Dean asked.

"I was trying to get the Apocalypse back on track. It was meant to be. You've permanently derailed it. This isn't meant to be, so I'll fix it." She handed him a bottle.

"So, he just drinks this and he's back to normal?"

"Not quite. He drinks it and for every hour he sleeps, he'll age a year."

"Will he keep on aging, or quit when he gets to 28?"

Atropos smiled. "You're smarter than most people give you credit for. He'll stop at 28." She disappeared.

Dean hoped that she wasn't lying, but he didn't have any choice but to trust her. He couldn't leave Sam like this. He was too vulnerable. "Get lost," he said to Meg.

"Fine," she said.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Dean was going to hand Sam the vial to drink. But it was all he had. If Sam poured it onto the floor, he was screwed. "Open up," he said.

Sam scooted away from him. "Get away from me."

Dean hated that Sam was afraid of him. He couldn't blame him, but it still hurt. He held Sam down and poured the liquid down his throat. Sam immediately passed out.

"Guess I have 20 hours to waste," Dean said. He watched as his brother slept. In a way he was sad that he had to do this. Sam was so innocent at eight.

Soon, Dean drifted off to sleep too.

SSS

Sam woke up six hours later. He looked around. This wasn't the latest motel room he had fallen asleep in while Dad and Dean were out hunting something. There was some man asleep there, too. He looked kind of like Dean, but much older. He sat up as quietly as he could and looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was that the door was padlocked shut.

He looked around for something to pick the lock with. He found a paper clip holding a bunch of papers together. He silently got out of bed removed and began to pick the lock. He kept stealing furtive glances back at the sleeping man.

Dean woke up when he heard a click. He looked to see what he thought was 14 year old Sam taking the lock off the door. He was up in an instant and barely made it to the door as Sam was about to run out. He grabbed him back.

Sam spun around and kneed Dean in the groin. If it hadn't hurt so much, Dean would have smiled. He had taught Sammy that move. He recovered quickly and placed himself between Sam and the door. He just hoped Sam hadn't got into the weapons.

"Who are you?" Sam asked.

"It's me. Dean."

"Dean's 18. You're really old," Sam countered.

Dean felt really old at the moment. "I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to stay here.

"Dean wouldn't kidnap me," Sam pointed out.

"I would if it was to protect you."

Sam kicked Dean in the shin and went for the door again. Dean tackled him. He held onto Sam the best he could as he slid the lock back in place.

"Let me go," Sam yelled.

"Can't do that, Sammy," Dean said as he dragged him as gently as he could to one of the chairs.

"Don't call me Sammy."

Dean was pushing Sam into the chair, wondering how he was going to keep Sam still while he tied him up. "Sit still or I'll shoot you." It went against everything he had to threaten Sam, but he had to keep him here. At least until he was up to full hunter status.

Sam sat still. The door was locked. This guy was bigger than him and he could see the bulge of the gun sticking out of his pants. He had no choice. His dad would be so disappointed in him.

"What do you want?" he asked when Dean had finished tying him up. "If you want something from my dad you kidnapped the wrong son. My dad hates me."

"How can you think that?" Dean asked.

Sam wasn't going to whine to his kidnapper. He just kept silent.

"You should get some sleep," Dean suggested. He really wanted to hurry the process up.

"I just woke up," Sam reminded him. Then his stomach growled.

Dean heard it. He never had gone out for food. He ran out to the car and rummaged in the trunk. They usually had some emergency canned goods. He found some soup. He went back in. "Hope chicken noodle is OK."

Sam didn't answer him. He decided you shouldn't talk to someone who's kidnapping you. You might get Stockholm Syndrome or something.

"Silent treatment, huh? That's OK. You were kind of lippy at this age anyway. Silence might be nice."

Dean finished warming up the soup and brought it over to the table. "Are you going to untie me so I can eat?"

"Sorry. I'll have to feed you."

Sam closed his eyes. This was humiliating. But he felt like he hadn't eaten in days. He opened his eyes and saw the spoon in front of him with the man waiting patiently. He sighed and opened his mouth.

On the last spoonful, Sam spit it out at Dean.

"Gross. This is going to be a very long day."

Dean tried to engage Sam in conversation a few times, but he had to hand it to the kid. He had decided not to talk to him and he hadn't said a word since trying to get him to untie him for lunch.

Sam saw the man begin to nod off. He began working on his ropes, but nothing. Soon he was asleep, too.


	13. Chapter 13

Dean woke up and was happy to see that Sam was sleeping. He was bigger than he was at 14. Dean estimated him to be about 21 or 22. Probably before he went and got him at Stanford, but not long before.

Dean hated to risk waking him up before he got to that critical point, but the ropes looked like they could be cutting off some major circulation. He had tied them around 14 year old wrists and they hadn't expanded to the new size.

Dean came up with a cover story in case Sam did wake up. He took the padlock off the door and cut the ropes off.

Just as Dean had feared Sam woke up.

Sam felt a pain in his wrists as he came awake. The last thing he remembered was going to bed with Jess after a really late study session. He tried to focus his eyes. "Dean?" He looked a little old. Hunting probably did that to you.

"Hey, Sammy. You OK?"

"What's going on? How did I get here? Where is here?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dean asked. Always a good place to start when you're going to make things up.

"I just went to bed with my girlfriend, Jessica. We were studying late."

"This guy who wanted something from dad snuck in your apartment and drugged you and kidnapped you. Dad took care of it."

"Is Jess OK?" Sam asked in a panic. If he had gotten her hurt he would never forgive himself. He thought since he had left the life it was safe to have a girlfriend.

"Yeah, she's fine. We told her Dad was a CIA agent and not to call the cops. You're probably going to have some pretty serious explaining to do." Sam would remember soon enough about Jess. No reason to ruin his happiness now.

Sam sighed in relief. "Can I borrow your phone? I want to call her."

"Sorry, dude. I was going to call Dad to tell him I found you but my battery's dead."

"Oh. Well, let's go. Where are we anyway?"

"Delaware."

"That's a long way from Stanford. We'll have to find a pay phone somewhere."

"Sure, Sammy. Come on."

"It's Sam."

Dean smiled. Sam hadn't corrected him on that in years. That made him wonder something. "So, what's the date?"

"What?"

"You were drugged. Standard question."

"Oh. Sure. It's October 12, 2005."

Dean wished he had let him sleep a few more minutes. It would have made this so much easier.

They went out to the car.

"Where's the Impala? "

"It got to the point we just couldn't fix it any more."

"Sorry. I know how much you loved that car," Sam said.

Dean was a little disappointed that Sam wasn't more upset about the demise of the car. But, it never really meant as much to Sam. Sam wasn't worried about things. Sam didn't have a leather jacket he wore everywhere. He didn't have an amulet. He didn't have a really old cassette collection. Dean had never noticed that about him before. He wondered why that was. Maybe they could psychoanalyze that when Sam was back to normal.

"So, what did this guy want?" Sam asked when they had been driving a couple of minutes.

"What guy?"

"Duh. The guy that kidnapped me."

"Oh. Dad didn't tell me. You know him and his secrets."

Sam gave Dean a surprised look. It almost sounded like Dean was questioning the Great and Powerful Oz, otherwise known as Dad. He would let it pass, though.

SSS

Dean pulled up to a diner. "Hungry?"

"Starving. I wonder if they have a pay phone."

"No idea," Dean said, hoping they didn't.

They walked in and looked around. Dean was gratified at the apparent absence.

"Can I help you?" the waitress asked.

"I'll have a bacon cheeseburger," Dean ordered his usual.

"Me, too," Sam said. Jess liked him to eat healthy. He hadn't had a burger in over a year. "Do you have a pay phone."

"Sorry, sweetie. With everyone having cell phones it just didn't pay to keep it around."

"OK, thanks."

"I'm surprised you're getting a cheeseburger," Dean commented.

"Why?" He and Dean had practically grown up on cheeseburgers and pizza. He wasn't sure if he had ever eaten anything else in Dean's presence.

"No reason," Dean said, realizing that he used to eat them all the time.

"So, what have you and Dad been up to?"

"Hunting."

"Don't you ever want to get out? Have a nice, safe, normal existence?" Sam asked. He really wanted something more for his brother. Plus, every time he thought about his family, he always wondered if they were dead. Hunting was pretty high risk.

"If we don't save people, who will?" Dean asked. It was half-hearted, though. He hadn't enjoyed hunting for years. Not since Hell. He was sick of the responsibility. But, he had learned the hard way that there was no way out.

"It's not that I want people to die, you know?" Sam said, detecting an insult.

"I know that, Sam." Nobody knew that more than him. Sam had jumped into Hell to save the world. If anyone deserved to have a nice, happy life it was Sam. He felt a tear rolling down his cheek, knowing that he would never have it. Knowing that the next time Sam woke up, he would have changed from this semi-innocent, happy, head-over-heels in love, successful law school student.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's go," Dean said, getting up and heading out the door before Sam could question him more.

Of course, he should have realized that he would be captive in the car.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked again.

"It's nothing. You were just right earlier. Sometimes I do want more. I want a family. But, I just know it's not in the cards for me. I envy you, Sam. That you get to have a normal life."

"You can, too," Sam said.

Dean decided to humor him. After all, he wouldn't remember this conversation. "You know. Maybe you're right. I'm going to tell Dad I quit hunting and I'm going to be a mechanic and get married."

He was rewarded by the biggest smile he'd ever seen on his normally grumpy brother.

"Palo Alto needs mechanics," Sam said, helpfully.

Dean gave him a smile back. It was nice to know his brother had wanted him around back then. "Why don't you get some sleep," he said, regretfully. This was probably the last time in his life Sam was truly happy.

"OK," Sam said and leaned his head up against the window and closed his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

Dean spared a glance at Sam. It looked like he had fallen asleep. He had filled up the tank when they had stopped for food. He would drive until he ran out of gas or Sam woke up whichever came first.

SSS

Sam woke up about four hours later. He started screaming. "Stop! Stop!"

Dean pulled the car over.

"What's wrong?"

"I need more."

"More what?"

Sam looked around. They were in a car. Dean must have taken him out of the panic room for some reason. He didn't know why, but he had to get out and go find Ruby. He needed more. He opened the door and ran out.

"SAM!" Dean yelled. "What is going on?" he muttered to himself. Then he closed his eyes. Sam would be about 25 now. He was jonesing for demon blood. Not good.

SSS

Sam had run deep into some woods. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He wasn't sure if he would get reception or not, but it turned out it didn't matter. Of course, Dean had tricked him out of his phone before tricking him into the panic room. He wondered why it hadn't occurred to him who Dean would be calling when he said that his phone was dead. Both he and Bobby were right there. Who else did Dean ever call?

Sam saw a stream up ahead. He went to it, took a drink and followed it. He would get out of the woods and find a phone so he could call Ruby. Ruby was the only one he could count on these days.

SSS

When Sam had run into the woods, Dean hadn't been sure what to do. He'd been caught off guard and Sam had had a significant head start. Add that to the fact that Sam ran faster than him in the first place and he knew he would never catch up.

He couldn't just let Sam wander around the woods, though. If he fell asleep and then woke up later, he would have no idea where he was. Not that he wouldn't be able to find his way out. If anyone had received enough survival training for anything it was John Winchester's sons.

So, to recap, he couldn't catch up to Sam running, couldn't track his GPS as he didn't have a cell phone on him, and couldn't leave him in there. What did that leave? Tracking him. Dean sighed as he entered the woods. It was going to be a long day. But, at least a running saskwatch left lots of clues in his wake.

SSS

Sam finally made it out of the woods. He spotted an old country store that actually had a pay phone. Even with all the speed dialing they did nowadays, he always made sure that he knew at least one of Dean's current numbers, Bobby's home and cell and, most importantly, Ruby's number.

He dialed it.

"The number you have dialed is out of order…"

Sam slammed down the phone. That bitch changed her number. What was he going to do now?

The adrenaline of escaping Dean was leaving him. It was being replaced with chills and shaking. The last time this had happened he had received a visit from Alistair.

"Hiya, Sammy."

"Gordon," Sam said, fearfully looking at the very sharp knife, Gordon was holding. "I killed you."

"I was right about you, Sammy," Gordon said and leapt onto Sam and tied him up in one swift motion.

Sam found himself laying on a ball. Gordon started cutting into him. "NO!" he screamed.

Three men came out of the store attracted by the commotion.

"What do you think? Some crazy druggie?" one of them asked, looking at the solitary figure in a fetal position screaming for mercy.

"Must be. I'm sick of them messing up our woods. Let's teach him a lesson."

"What do you want to do?"

"Go back in the store and get some honey. We'll take his clothes off, cover him with honey and tie him to a tree. The ants will eat him alive."

The other two laughed. This would be fun. The first guy ran to his truck and got a rope.

They went over to him and set to work. "Let's shut him up as soon as possible, too." When they got his clothes off they stuff his underwear in his mouth to muffle the screaming.

"His underwear? That's pretty gross. Can't we use something else."

"These woods are full of fire ants. That's going to be the least of his problems in about a half hour."

Sam watched as Gordon's two friends, Kubrick and Cready, joined him.

SSS

Dean had lost Sam's trail at the river, but he knew what he would do. He hoped he was right anyway. Sam had played opposites the last time he had run from him to get demon blood. But, he had had a few more options at that point.

When he got to the edge of the woods, he saw three men tying a naked Sam to a tree. "Hey!" he yelled pulling his gun out.

"Just teaching a druggie a lesson," one of them said.

"Did it ever occur to you he might have a medical condition instead of being high on something?" Dean asked, knowing they were right, but majorly pissed off at them. On the other hand, if not for them, Sammy may be long gone now. Either way, he had to get rid of these guys.

Sam's head cleared. He saw three strangers right in front of him and Dean holding a gun on them. Was his underwear in his mouth? He wanted to gag, but knew he would choke on it. He felt a burning sensation on his legs. He looked down. There were ants on him, biting him. He whimpered. It hurt.

"Get out of here!" Dean yelled.

The ringleader took one look at Dean's eyes, motioned to his buddies and they ran off.

Dean ran up to Sam.

"Son of a bitch," he said, when he saw the ants. He wiped them off, and untied Sam as quickly as he could. He dragged him into the store, and the elderly man let him used the bathroom to clean Sam up and get him dressed again. The ant bites wouldn't kill him, but they were going to hurt a while.

"I need more," Sam whispered. Then he passed out.

Sam addicted to demon blood was almost as bad as RoboSam. Another hour of sleep and… Dean realized that another hour or so would bring him to soulless Sam. And soulless Sam didn't sleep. This was not good.


	15. Chapter 15

After Dean had cleaned him up Sam had fallen asleep with his head in his lap. Dean had to keep him asleep for at least two and a half hours. He did not want a soulless Sam on his hands. He leaned his head up against the bathroom wall and dozed off himself.

The store owner opened the door. "You two still in here?" he demanded. He had let them come in here so that the guy could clean his brother up, but he wanted them out of here.

Both Sam and Dean jerked awake. "What?" Dean asked, still groggy.

"Get out!"

"OK. We don't want any trouble," he said. He snuck a glance at his watch. It had only been slightly less than two hours. Crap.

Sam was already on his feet and out the door. He was looking around in confusion and a little unsteady on his feet.

When they got outside, he asked, "What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Dean asked and indicated the woods. The car was on the other side.

"I was in Hell being tortured by Lucifer. It's kind of weird, though, because I think I was having a weird dream at the same time. I got out of Hell and hooked up with some hunters, including our grandfather, and then you were back and I just let you get turned into a vampire."

Dean sighed in relief. It made sense. He was getting Sam at different stages of his life, but Sam was always right there. Since his soul wasn't elsewhere it was with him.

"How did I get out of Hell? You didn't do anything stupid did you?" Sam demanded. In a way he didn't care. He was glad to be out.

"Cas got you out."

"Where is he?" Sam asked looking around.

"Not here." No need to tell Sam he was dead. Sam still had at least one more nap to take before he would remember anything.

"Dean."

"Yeah?"

Sam took a breath. "I don't ever want to go back there."

"I wouldn't think so." Dean wondered why Sam had bothered stating the obvious.

They were back to the car. "Where's the Impala?"

"Lock down."

"Why?"

"Long story. You'll know all about it when you wake up. Why don't you take another nap."

"OK," Sam shrugged.

SSS

Dean pulled up to a motel. It had been long enough. When Sam woke up he would be back to the present.

As if on cue, Sam opened his eyes. He jerked around. "Dean? How did I get here? Where's Lucifer?"

"Lucifer turned you into a little kid. Had to do with a spell to keep him topside and powerful. It backfired and he's dead." Dean was sick of explaining things.

"Dead?"

"Yeah."

"Not back in the cage, but dead, never can come back, dead?" Sam stressed.

"That's right," Dean assured him.

"You're sure."

"100%." As he said that, he realized he wasn't. After all, he was 100% sure Sam was dead and not coming back before he had thought to sell his soul for him. He was 100% sure Cas was dead when Lucifer exploded him. But, he was as sure as he could be.

Sam started crying.

"You're mourning him?" Dean asked.

"No. I'm just so relieved. He's been in my head for months. Torturing me. I thought it was all in my head and I could ignore it. But, now he's gone. You don't know what that means to me. I mean, I know you went to Hell. But I went to, and I can tell you it's worse inside your own head. Even in Hell you can sleep once in a while. Sometimes you even get to dream about being up here."

"Yeah, I remember. Sleeping was definitely the best part," Dean concurred.

"What did you dream about down there?"

"Sometimes I dreamt about getting to torture Alistair. Most of the time I dreamt about you and Dad and Mom."

"Like memories?"

"Memories. Sometimes things that had never happened, but I wished had."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Why are you asking me all this?"

"I don't know. Just tell me."

"Well, I dreamt of what growing up would have been like with both Mom and Dad around. I dreamt about you and Jess getting married."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Sam. Believe it or not, I always wanted you to be happy. I wish you could have had a normal life. What about you? What did you dream about?"

"Pretty much the same as you, I guess. Except I didn't dream about torturing Lucifer. In my dream, him and Michael turned against each other and tortured themselves. It was awesome."

Dean smiled at the image. "That must have been something."

"I also had all these dreams where Dad and I could actually get through a whole day without fighting."

Dean wanted to ask Sam about Adam. He almost did, but what was Sam going to say. Adam was having a great time in Hell. No need to remind Sam that he got out while their brother was still trapped down there.

"So, what next?" Sam asked.

"Leviathans, I guess. If we can beat the devil twice, this should be no problem."

"Speaking of dreams," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, as he got into the car.

"Shut up," Dean said, but he couldn't hide the grin that came with knowing that his little brother was finally going to be OK.


End file.
